Pushing forward the DPP administration's pledge to build a nuclear-free nation, the Executive Yuan yesterday announced that it will earmark NT$3 billion every year to develop renewable energy and boost the energy-conservation industry.
According to a press release made available by the Cabinet's Committee for the Establishment of a Nuclear Free Home, which met yesterday afternoon, the decision was part of the action plan mapped out by the committee yesterday in the wake of the anti-nuclear convention held in June.
At the conference, discussion topics included strategies to phase-out nuclear energy, the decommissioning of existing nuclear plants, the adoption of renewable energy and the disposal of nuclear waste. The experiences of the US, Japan and Sweden were also presented.
In addition to research and development funds, the committee yesterday decided to ease legislation regulating land acquisition for wind power plants to boost the development of renewable energy.
To encourage the public to make use of solar power, the committee decided to earmark NT$166 million next year to subsidize solar systems in the nation's townships and schools. The fund would also be made available to those families interested in using solar heating systems. The committee hopes to see the number of families using solar heat increase from the current 12,000 to 20,000.
The committee also planned to complete the draft measure regarding the power generated by nuclear power plants and the supervision of such facilities by the end of the year.
To strengthen its research projects on energy technology, the Energy Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs will also increase its annual budget of next year by 12.47 percent.
Government agencies responsible for executing energy policies will expand to include the Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of Transportation and the Communication and Council of Agriculture.
Currently, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of the Interior and National Science Council are responsible for implementing the government's energy policies.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
RSS